This concert is a final dress rehearsal for four of Waikato’s most talented musicians in their quest to win the New Zealand National Concerto Competition being held in Christchurch the following week. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the event and as a special recognition of this, the four finalists chosen from the competition will perform their concertos with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in March 2017. So our students have chance to play with the NZSO, as well as competing for a total prize pool of over $31,000. It should be mentioned that Waikato students have won first prize in 5 of the past 7 finals!

In this evening of concerti, you will hear four very popular string concertos, with the orchestral accompanying role being played by the "Berlin Philharmonic of the Piano", Francis Cowan. Starting off with the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in e minor op.44 movements 1 and 2, third year Waikato University student Rachel Twyman will dazzle us with Mendelssohn’s youthful energy and virtuosity. Following Rachel will be Hamilton’s up and coming raising young star, Jooeun Kim, who at 14 will be one of the youngest competitors at the competition. Jooeun will pull at your heartstrings will her rendition of the third and fourth movements of the ever popular and deeply moving Elgar Cello Concerto also in e minor op.85

After a break from all the e Minor worksm we will start the 2nd half of the concert with Dimitri Shostakovich’s startling Violin concerto #1 in A minor op.77 performed by Waikato University’s honour student Alex Geary. Alex will be playing the soulful 3rd movement Passacaglia, Cadenza and the fiery and driven 4th movement Burlesque. And finally we ‘ll hear 17 year old cellist Hyein Kim performing the great Dvorak Cello Concerto in B minor op.104 first movement Allegro, with all its passionate expressions of lost love and stirring melodies representing Dvorak's Czech homeland. Hyein won the most promising cellist award at the recent Wallace International Cello Competition in August, and with all the other performers tonight, is a talent on the rise to big things.